Boutique brewer a 'shining light'

MONDAY BUSINESS

Liberty Brewing Company owners Joseph and Christina Wood sample some of the beer they have been pumping out of their home garage brewery since 2009

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It's only a matter of time until New Plymouth man Joseph Wood is crowned New Zealand's top brewer, says the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA).

Wood, who has been brewing beer since the ripe age of 14, is the man responsible for producing some of the country's most respected and progressive craft beers. He has also been providing beer enthusiasts with the ingredients and equipment needed to home brew beer since he and his wife, Christina Wood, purchased Liberty Brewing in 2009.

Originally from West Auckland, the couple moved to New Plymouth five years ago, when Joseph Wood's passion for beer was little more than a hobby. Now, the Woods have three 300-litre tanks in a garage brewery where Joseph crafts Liberty beer and distributes it throughout New Zealand.

SOBA press secretary Martin Bulmer said Wood was a "shining light" in New Zealand's beer industry.

"His brews are extremely well regarded," Bulmer said, adding that Wood had been an active and influential member of New Zealand's craft beer and home brewing industry for some time. "He's done a helluva lot to support the craft beer brewing in this country."

Bulmer said it was only a matter of time before Wood was crowned New Zealand brewer of the year.

The growing popularity of craft beers in New Zealand had spurred a new generation of home brewers, Bulmer said.

"In the past couple of years it has been blossoming. People are finding out that beer isn't something that you just knock back, it's something you enjoy."

Liberty Brewing was both leading the way in craft beer brewing and helping unleash hidden home brew talent in garages throughout New Zealand, he said.

"This country has burgeoning talent under the blanket."

Although Liberty Brewing prides itself on selling top-class beers, its core business is selling home-brew ingredients. Each month, about five new customers join Liberty's existing base of 1800 clients, Christina Wood said.

She takes care of customer service, distribution and finances, while Joseph looks after the brewing, packaging, cleaning and networking. He spends between 20 and 30 hours a week brewing beer in his "ultimate man cave". On top of this, he works 40 or 50 hours a week as the manager of a shipping terminal at Port Taranaki.

The Woods have recently returned from visiting friends in Nelson. Conveniently, their visit coincided with Marchfest, the annual hop harvest festival, where Wood went head-to-head with a West Coast Breweries brewer, Dave Kurth, in a debate about the merits of "high-gravity" brewing versus "low-gravity" brewing.